Department of Health and Social Care

Medical Equipment

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who the members are of the NHS England high cost devices steering group; and what the role of that group is.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dental Services: Children

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information her Department holds on the number of children aged ten and under that received dental (a) treatment and (b) surgery under general anaesthetic in each year since 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: The data for children aged ten years old and under that have received dental treatment and surgery under general anaesthetic is not held centrally. We want to improve oral hygiene and access to dental care for all children, regardless of where in England they live. Access to dentistry is improving, and last year around 800,000 more children saw a National Health Service dentist.On 7 February 2024 we published Our Plan to Recover and Reform NHS Dentistry. The Dentistry Recovery Plan will make dental services faster, simpler, and fairer for patients, and will fund approximately 2.5 million additional appointments. The plan also sets out a new emphasis on prevention and good oral health in children. This includes supporting nurseries and early years settings to incorporate good oral hygiene into daily routines and providing advice to expectant parents on how to protect their baby’s teeth. The plan will also deploy mobile dental teams into schools in under-served areas to provide advice and deliver preventative treatments to more than 165,000 children.

Cancer: Young People

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to improve awareness of the (a) signs and (b) symptoms of cancer in young people.

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of targeted awareness campaigns for young people on the five main warning signs and symptoms of cancer.

Andrew Stephenson: The Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce has been set up to progress the Government’s mission to deliver world-leading cancer services. This dedicated work focusing on cancers affecting children and young people will explore detection and diagnosis, including improving awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer in young people, as well as genomic testing and treatment, and research and innovation.NHS England is focused on accelerating earlier and faster cancer diagnosis to achieve the NHS Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of people at an early stage by 2028. NHS England’s comprehensive strategy includes raising awareness of cancer symptoms, tackling barriers to help-seeking, and encouraging people to get checked. Targeted awareness campaigns such as Help Us, Help You are a crucial component of this work. The campaigns address specific symptoms, including those linked to common, rare, and less-common cancers, cancer screening, and the fear-related barriers to seeking help from the National Health Service across all cancer types.

Cancer: Diagnosis

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of patients who received an urgent GP referral for a suspected cancer in the last six months have (a) been diagnosed with cancer and (b) received confirmation that cancer has not been detected within 28 days of their referral.

Andrew Stephenson: The following table shows the amount of people that were either informed that they had cancer, or received an all clear, in the past six months for which data is available, namely between June and November 2023, and the proportions of people that were told this within 28 days from an urgent referral:Pathway End ReasonTotal toldTold within 28 daysPercentage told outcome within 28 daysDiagnosis of cancer91,36946,84151.3%Ruling out of cancer1,379,7381,006,23372.9%Source: NHS England

Dementia: Research

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Department's Press Release entitled, Prime Minister launches Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission, published on 14 August 2022, how much and what proportion of the funding made available through that mission will be spent in each region.

Andrew Stephenson: The £95 million of Government funding allocated to the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission will be accessible across the United Kingdom, however we cannot at this stage confirm a regional breakdown of the spending allocation.

Diabetes: Medical Equipment

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of patients with type 1 diabetes use (a) finger-pricking monitoring and (b) continuous monitoring to track their glucose levels.

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of  patients with type 1 diabetes use real time continuous glucose monitoring to manage their diabetes.

Andrew Stephenson: Standard care for type 1 diabetes involves regularly measuring blood glucose levels by self-monitoring, blood testing, or by using a continuous glucose monitor, real-time or intermittently scanned.The NHS Long Term Plan committed that 20% of people with type 1 diabetes would benefit from life changing flash glucose monitors. Data to quarter three of 2022/23 shows that 73% of people with type 1 diabetes were prescribed flash glucose monitoring, against the 20% target. As a result of the recent National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance that also recommended that insulin dependent patients with type 2 diabetes should benefit from flash or continuous glucose monitoring devices, we are now starting to see a growth in prescribing within the type 2 diabetes patient group.

Health Services: North West

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce NHS waiting lists in (a) the North West and (b) Liverpool.

Andrew Stephenson: Cutting waiting lists is one of this Prime Minister’s top priorities. To reduce the National Health Service waiting list, the Department plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25. This funding will expand capacity through creating a new network of community diagnostic centres and maximising all available independent sector capacity. In addition, we are managing demand through specialised advice in primary care and giving patients more control over where they receive their care. We are also increasing productivity through transforming outpatient services, developing new surgical hubs to increase theatre productivity, and working actively with trusts to support and challenge on their performance.

Liver Diseases

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of hospital admissions were due to liver disease in 2022-23.

Andrew Stephenson: The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities publishes liver disease profiles. These provide data on the number and rate of hospital admissions for liver disease in England and local areas. The profiles currently include hospital admissions data up to the financial year ending 31 March 2022.In the financial year ending 2022, there were 82,290 hospital admissions in England due to liver disease. The profiles do not include the proportion of all hospital admissions that are due to liver disease. Data on hospital admissions is updated regularly in the profiles, and data for the financial year ending 2023 will be published this summer.

Blood Diseases: Medical Treatments

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with (a) NICE and (b) NHS England on encouraging the adoption of new treatments for (i) sickle cell disease and (ii) beta-thalassaemia.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department regularly discusses a range of issues with colleagues in NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), related to patient access to new treatments. The NICE appraises all new licensed medicines, and its recommendations are developed independently in line with its established methods and processes, on the basis of an assessment of the available evidence, and through extensive engagement with stakeholders. NHS England is legally required to fund treatments recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance.

NHS Learning Support Fund: Pharmacy

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason Master of Pharmacy courses are not included in the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include Masters of Pharmacy courses in the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Andrew Stephenson: The Learning Support Fund (LSF) is available broadly to those courses which were eligible for the NHS Bursary prior to the 2017 reforms, and therefore, subjects such as pharmacy are outside of the scope of the LSF arrangements. There are no immediate plans to make changes to the LSF scheme design.The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all healthcare students under close review. At all times the Government must strike a balance between the level of support students receive, and the need to make best use of public funds to deliver value for money.

Trulicity

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the supply of Trulicity.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to support patients affected by shortages of Trulicity.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help stop disruption of the supply of (a) Ozempic, (b) Trulicity and (c) similar medicines.

Andrew Stephenson: While the position has improved, there continues to be a global supply issue with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA), including Trulicity (dulaglutide) and Ozempic (semaglutide). We have issued updated guidance to healthcare professionals in the form of a National Patient Safety Alert on the 3 January 2024, on how to manage patients requiring these medicines.Our guidance is clear that GLP-1 RAs that are solely licensed to treat type 2 diabetes should only be used for that purpose, and should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss. The General Pharmaceutical Council, General Medical Council, Health and Care Professions Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland have also issued a joint statement stressing the importance of health and care professionals meeting regulatory standards in relation to these medicines.We know how distressing and frustrating medicine supply issues can be, and the Department will continue to help in ensuring that these critical medicines reach diabetes patients. If any patient is concerned about their treatment, they should discuss this with their clinician at the earliest opportunity.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence: Medical Treatments

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with NICE on developing its methodologies to ensure future access to (a) innovative one-time treatments and (b) cell and genetic therapies.

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with the (a) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and (b) Chancellor of the Exchequer on the application of NICE's evaluation methods to support value assessment for one-off curative treatments for which health gains are accrued over time.

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on updates in the way that it assesses medicines that reduce health inequalities.

Andrew Stephenson: Department officials regularly discuss a range of issues with colleagues in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and HM Treasury. The NICE is responsible for the methods and processes it uses to develop its recommendations, and concluded a comprehensive review of the methods and processes it uses for health technology evaluation, in January 2022. The NICE carried out the review through extensive engagement with stakeholders, including officials within the Department. The NICE introduced a number of changes that make its methods fairer, faster, more consistent, and appropriate to the evaluation of emerging new technologies, such as cell and gene therapies.The NICE is monitoring the impact of the changes following the methods review and has committed to considering modular updates to its methods and processes in the future, including a planned update focussed on health inequalities in 2024. The NICE has been able to recommend several advanced therapeutic medicinal products, including one-off gene therapies, for National Health Service funding that are now available to NHS patients in line with NICE’s recommendations.

NHS: Staff

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what NHS England's policy is on hybrid working arrangements for (a) medical and (b) non-medical staff; and whether NHS England has made an assessment of the potential impact of working from home for up to (i) one, (ii) two, (iii) three and (iv) four days a week on levels of work productivity.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England’s working from home policy, as of April 2024, will ask all colleagues with a contractual office base to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in-person. This will apply to both medical and non-medical staff.A flexible work model will help the National Health Service to recruit and retain people more effectively, and is an important aspect of both the NHS People Promise and the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. NHS England will continue to shape their ways of working based on what allows them to deliver high-quality services for all.

Department of Health and Social Care: Ministers' Private Offices

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2024 to Question 11392 on Department of Health and Social Care: Ministers' Private Offices, what the cost was of the refurbishment to ministerial offices in 2023.

Andrew Stephenson: The total cost of refurbishment of the ministerial offices in 2023 was approximately £140,000. This answer was previously shared in the answer to the hon. Member for Ilford North on the 20 of September 2023 to Question 198375.

Liraglutide

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of off-label prescriptions of Victoza, Luraglutide, for the purpose of weight loss from private healthcare providers on the level of supply of that drug for type 2 diabetes.

Andrew Stephenson: While the position has improved, there continues to be a global supply issue with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA), including Victoza (liraglutide). We have issued updated guidance to healthcare professionals in the form of a National Patient Safety Alert on 3 January 2024, on how to manage patients requiring these medicines. Our guidance is clear that GLP-1 RAs that are solely licensed to treat type 2 diabetes should only be used for that purpose and should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss. The General Pharmaceutical Council, General Medical Council, Health and Care Professions Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland have also issued a joint statement stressing the importance of health and care professionals meeting regulatory standards in relation to these medicines. We know how distressing and frustrating medicine supply issues can be, and the Department will continue to help ensure that these critical medicines reach diabetes patients. If any patient is concerned about their treatment, they should discuss this with their clinician at the earliest opportunity.

Epilepsy: Cannabis

Sarah Dyke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she expects the randomised controlled trials to test medicinal cannabis for adults and children with epilepsy to begin; which NHS Trusts will be participating in these trials; how many patients will be involved in the trials; and whether patients will be approached to participate.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department, via the National Institute for Health and Care Research, is developing a programme of two randomised controlled trials to test the safety and efficacy of medicinal cannabis products to treat epilepsy in adults and children. The trials will start as soon as possible, and results will be published once the trials have been completed and the findings peer reviewed. The trial details are in development.

Dementia: Training

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with NHS England about improving training for NHS workers on caring for people with dementia.

Helen Whately: We want all relevant staff to have received appropriate training to provide high quality care to people with dementia, whether in hospital or in the community.Individual employers are responsible for ensuring their staff are trained and competent to carry out their role, and for investing in the future of their staff through providing continuing professional development (CPD) funding.To supplement local employer investment for CPD, the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published on 30 June 2023, sets out NHS England’s commitment to continue national CPD funding for nurses and allied health professionals.There are a variety of resources available on the NHS England E-learning for Health platform, including a programme on dementia care, designed to enhance the training and education of the health and social care workforce.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Admissions

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will publish the correspondence to NHS trusts requiring emergency departments to prioritise patients not in need of admission to hospital.

Helen Whately: No such correspondence has been issued to NHS Trusts.NHS England wrote to systems and trusts on 25 January reiterating the need to improve A&E performance for all patients requiring emergency care, and emphasised some of the known best practice in emergency department processes to ensure delays to patient care are minimised.

Sodium Valproate and Surgical Mesh Implants

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is to respond to the Patient Safety Commissioner's report entitled Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024.

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is to respond to the Patient Safety Commissioner's report entitled Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024.

Maria Caulfield: The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations and will respond substantively in due course.

Sodium Valproate and Surgical Mesh Implants: Compensation

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to respond to the report by the Patient Safety Commissioner entitled The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024.

Maria Caulfield: The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations and will respond substantively in due course.

Prisoners: HIV Infection

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what protocols her Department has in place on the dispensing of medication to prisoners who are HIV positive.

Maria Caulfield: HIV medication is initiated by a specialist in specialist services, and prison healthcare and pharmacy teams liaise with them to ensure continuity of care. A shared care agreement would be put in place to ensure continuity of care and appropriate monitoring. Any medication listed under the National Health Service high cost commissioning list is accessed via specialist commissioning routes, and delivered directly to the healthcare team at the prison. Any medication not listed as high cost will be dispensed in the usual way, via the healthcare dispensing services.Healthcare teams within prisons ensure the appropriate monitoring is in place, and that there is ongoing continuity in medication throughout the patient’s stay at the prison. Protocols are in place to ensure that medications will transfer with the patient either on release or when being transferred to another prison establishment.

Sepsis: Hospitals

Sir John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of hospital-acquired sepsis there were in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Caulfield: The Department and NHS England do not centrally hold information on hospital acquired sepsis, although incidents of this may be held by local providers. The Office for National Statistics publishes the number of death registrations where sepsis is mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, in England and Wales. The following table shows the number of deaths registered where sepsis was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate in England and Wales, in each of the last ten years until 2022: YearNumber of Deaths201322,967201422,826201524,784201624,973201723,709201823,185201921,458202019,324202121,947202225,542 The figures for 2023 have not yet been published.

Mental Health

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the total morbidity burden in England is accounted for by mental health.

Maria Caulfield: According to the most recent Global Burden of Disease publication, mental health problems accounted for 15.4% of the total burden of disease in England in 2019.

Mental Health Services and Special Educational Needs: Children

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce the time taken for children to receive (a) SEN assessments and (b) mental health treatment.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education to ensure that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time. We are doing this through working together to implement the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, which was published on 2 March 2023. This sets out the Government’s mission to establish a single national system that delivers for every child and young person with SEND and in alternative provision, so that they enjoy their childhood, achieve good outcomes, and are well prepared for adulthood and employment.The Department of Health and Social Care is also investing at least an additional £2.3 billion a year in expanding National Health Service mental health services by March 2024, compared to 2018/19, and have set out our aim in the NHS Long Term Plan for an additional 345,000 children and young people to be able to get the mental health support they need. NHS England is also developing a new waiting time standard for children and their families to start receiving community-based mental health care within four weeks of referral.

Prescriptions: Pregnancy

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to (a) publicise and (b) promote the maternity exemption to prescription charges; and what steps she is taking to ensure (i) rapid reimbursement and (ii) the removal of fines when the forms for patients entitled to the exemption are not correctly filed.

Maria Caulfield: Both the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) and the National Health Service promote maternity exemption certificates to raise awareness amongst midwives, general practitioners, and other healthcare practitioners of their obligations to apply for maternity exemption certificates on behalf of the patient. They’ve also taken action to raise awareness amongst eligible individuals of their entitlement by promoting the certificates through social media, online resources, media releases, and through healthcare bulletins. Information on how to apply for a maternity exemption certificate is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/check-if-you-have-nhs-exemption/maternity-exemption-certificatesA maternity exemption certificate can be applied for as soon as a healthcare professional has confirmed the pregnancy or that the patient has given birth, including still-birth, in the previous 12 months. The certificate is automatically backdated one month from the date the application is received by the NHS BSA. Where a Penalty Charge Notice has been issued because a patient has claimed the maternity exemption without holding a valid maternity exemption certificate, the patient is given 60 days to pay the prescription charge and apply for an exemption certificate. The penalty charges will only then be removed.The reimbursement of prescription charges usually takes place through a community pharmacy using the NHS FP57 receipt and refund form. In specific circumstances a refund request may require input from NHS BSA, these are processed and returned to the patient to take to the pharmacy within five working days.

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme: Coronavirus

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of (a) compensation and (b) successful applications of awards given out by the vaccine damage payment scheme related to a covid-19 vaccinations since the addition of the covid-19 vaccines to the vaccine damage payment scheme.

Maria Caulfield: Between COVID-19 being added to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) on 31 December 2020 and 5 February 2024, 163 claims have received an award that relates to COVID-19. This constitutes 98% of awarded VDPS claims in this period, with four claims receiving an award that relates to other diseases.It is important to note that the VDPS is not a compensation scheme. £19,560,000 has been awarded for claims relating to COVID-19, including pending payments. This constitutes 98% of VDPS awards in this period, with £480,000 having been paid to awarded claims relating to other diseases.

Uk Health Security Agency: Public Appointments

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will confirm whether (a) Simon Blagden declared his relationship with Larkspur International to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) before his appointment to its advisory board, (b) UKHSA vetted Larkspur International before his appointment and (c) he supplied UKHSA with a list of Larkspur's clients.

Maria Caulfield: Simon Blagden did not make a declaration of his relationship with Larkspur International to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) at the time of his appointment as he did not assess there to be any potential conflict of interest. This was compliant with the declaration policy in place. He did declare political donations as required and no conflict of interest was identified through the standard appointments process which precluded his appointment to the UKHSA Advisory Board.Simon Blagden is an unpaid, associate non-Executive member of the Advisory Board, appointed by the Board. A review of the Conflicts of Interest policy was undertaken by the Government Internal Audit Agency in 2022 and did not raise any concerns with Mr Blagden’s declarations. UKHSA has since chosen to adopt a more stringent policy than the Government standard, requiring declaration of all interests whether they present a potential conflict or not. Under this new policy Mr Blagden has formally declared his relationship with Larkspur International.

Alzheimer's Disease: Drugs

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to assess the potential (a) costs and (b) impact on patients of the use of (i) lecanemab , (ii) donanemab and (ii) other Alzheimer's drugs.

Andrew Stephenson: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS, based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. NHS England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by the NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance. The NICE is currently appraising lecanemab and donanemab and expects to publish guidance on both medicines later this year.NHS England has established a dedicated programme team to prepare for any new Alzheimer’s treatments that are granted a licence by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and determined by the NICE to be clinically and cost effective for use in the NHS. The programme team is preparing for key challenges in implementation. This includes planning for additional diagnostic, treatment, and safety monitoring capacity, and the introduction of a new genetic test as well as amyloid positron emission tomography and computed tomography scanning, to ensure the new pathway for these medicines can be rolled out successfully.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans her Department has to make medicinal cannabis more accessible to those who need it.

Andrew Stephenson: Licensed cannabis-based medicines are routinely available on the National Health Service. However, clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines. The Government continues to call on manufacturers to invest in research and clinical trials to prove if their products are safe and effective and offers scientific and research advice from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the NICE.

NHS: Finance

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Guidance on Department for Health and Social Care funding for non-consolidated pay awards in non-annex one organisations published in November 2023, which NHS organisations have been approved for funding.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Guidance on Department for Health and Social Care funding for non-consolidated pay awards in non-annex one organisations published in November 2023, when her Department plans to announce which NHS organisations have been successful in their funding applications.

Andrew Stephenson: The outcome of the applications will be communicated directly to the organisations that applied, by the end of the financial year. As this information will be commercially sensitive for these independent organisations, we do not intend to announce which organisations have been successful.

Alcoholism and Drugs: Veterans

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing treatment services for veterans with alcohol and drug dependency.

Maria Caulfield: The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) is part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, with construction starting in 2023. This new 70-bed facility will benefit all patients including veterans by bringing together patient care, research, innovation, and training and education under one roof.In addition, Op RESTORE has been commissioned by NHS England to act as a comprehensive veterans’ mental and physical health and wellbeing service. It supports individuals who have served in, or are leaving, the British Armed Forces and who have physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the Armed Forces. Additionally, in April 2023, a new integrated Op COURAGE service launched which includes access to dedicated support for those presenting with substance misuse and other addictions such as gambling. Access to Op COURAGE is via referral or by direct contact from veterans, with a campaign to raise awareness of Op COURAGE having been launched on 9 January 2024.The Government is providing an additional £10 million to support the Veterans’ Places, People and Pathways Programme to increase support to a significant community of vulnerable veterans throughout the United Kingdom, and to enable it to become self-sustaining.The Government has not made any assessment of the adequacy of existing rehabilitative care for injured veterans, existing treatment services for veterans with alcohol and drug dependency or existing mental health support for veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.The Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Office for Veterans' Affairs engage with Five Eyes international partners to share best practice on research and policy delivery. This engagement covers a wide range of issues relating to veterans including physical health. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not had additional engagement with international partners on rehabilitative care for veterans.

Oxcarbazepine

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that there is an adequate supply of oxcarbazepine for patients with epilepsy.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department was informed of supply issues with oxcarbazepine 150 milligram and 300 milligram tablets by one supplier, which are out of stock until the end of March and the end of February 2024, respectively. Alternative oxcarbazepine tablets remain available. The Department has worked extensively with alternative suppliers and clinical colleagues and has since issued communications to the National Health Service which includes detailed management advice.While we cannot always prevent supply issues from occurring, the Department has a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise and help mitigate risks to patients. There is a team within the Department that deals specifically with medicine supply problems, and it works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, the devolved administrations, and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when shortages do arise.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

UNRWA: Finance

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2024 to Question 13138 on UNRWA: Finance, what the sources for the allegations referred to were.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: As we have said, we are pausing any future funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) whilst we review these concerning allegations. We are pressing the UN Office of Internal Oversight and Catherine Colonna to produce a rapid interim report.

UNRWA: Textbooks

Neil Coyle: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the findings of the report published by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education entitled UNRWA Education: Textbooks and Terror, published in November 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are aware of the findings of this report. We take any allegation of the promotion of racism and discrimination extremely seriously and have been clear that incitement to hatred or violence is unacceptable and should have no place in education. Any allegations of breaches of UN staff regulations and rules, including neutrality breaches, are reported to FCDO and investigated. We continue to urge all parties to condemn incitement wherever and whenever it occurs.The UK-supported 2021 review of the Palestinian Authority (PA) curriculum found improvements in content, with previously flagged materials removed. What we really need to see is further curriculum reform from the PA and we continue to raise this with them regularly.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2024 to Question 13138 on UNRWA: Finance, if he will publish a breakdown of funds allocated to (a) OCHA, (b) UNICEF, (c) the World Food Programme, (d) Egyptian Red Crescent Society and (e) any other partners.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: UK funding to specific agencies and organisations includes the following:•£7.75 million to the OCHA Pooled Fund to support up to 139,000 people in Gaza and the West Bank with food, water, sanitation, health, education and protection services through NGOs•£1.35 million to OCHA to support analysis of needs and coordination of humanitarian aid•£7.75 million to UNICEF to support up to 89,200 beneficiaries in Gaza with protection, nutrition, education, health, Water Sanitation and Hygiene services, and Gender-Based Violence services•£8.25 million to the World Food Programme to provide in-kind food assistance to up to 53,500 beneficiaries•£7.75 million to Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement to support up to 140,000 beneficiaries in Gaza and the West Bank with food, livelihoods, water, sanitation, health and protectionIn addition, the UK is providing:•£1.5 million to WHO to support Emergency Medical Teams and essential medical supplies•£1 million to Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) to facilitate medical supplies to Gaza•£900 thousand to UNOPS to facilitate humanitarian access and delivery of aid supplies

Black Sea: Shipping

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of the disruption to shipping from Ukraine via the Black Sea on food supplies to the developing world.

Leo Docherty: As a result of Ukrainian resilience and innovation, as well as our support and that of international partners, over 13 million tonnes of agricultural produce has been exported through the Black Sea since September 2023. These are the highest levels since the war began, which is a remarkable achievement.These supplies are crucial for the resilience of global grain markets and global food security, which are especially important for the developing world. Developing countries, including Egypt, Indonesia and Pakistan, have directly received significant quantities of grain from Ukraine via the corridor.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: British Virgin Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many officials from his Department are stationed in the British Virgin Islands.

David Rutley: The Governor's Office in Tortola comprises of nine staff funded by the UK Government as well as staff funded by the Government of the Virgin Islands.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: USA

Colum Eastwood: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many officials from his Department worked in the US by (a) embassy and consulate and (b) grade in each financial year since 2010.

David Rutley: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Elizabeth Tsurkov

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Iraq on Elizabeth Tsurkov.

David Rutley: The UK is concerned over the kidnapping of Israeli-Russian dual national Elizabeth Tsurkov. The Government of Iraq opened an investigation into her kidnapping last year and we await the findings. Those suspected of criminal responsibility for her kidnapping should be brought to justice in fair trials. His Majesty's Government has not had any discussions with the Government of Iraq regarding the kidnapping.

Gaza: Internally Displaced People

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help ensure that Palestinians who were displaced from their homes in Gaza are able to return to them.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We have been clear that want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes. The most important step in getting Palestinians displaced by the fighting in Gaza back to their homes will be securing a sustainable ceasefire. We are clear that an immediate pause is necessary, and then we want to build towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to the fighting. Our commitment to trebling aid to Gaza still stands and the UK is providing £60 million in humanitarian assistance to support partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS) to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.

Gaza: Israel

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help ensure compliance with the International Court of Justice's order relating to the case of the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v Israel), published on 26 January 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We respect the role and independence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICJ's ruling is binding. We have stated, however, that we have considerable concerns about this case, which is not helpful in the goal of achieving a sustainable ceasefire. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas in line with International Law, as we have said from the outset. Our view is that Israel's actions in Gaza cannot be described as a genocide, which is why we thought South Africa's decision to bring the case was wrong and provocative. The court's call for the immediate release of hostages and the need to get more aid into Gaza is a position we have long advocated. We are clear that an immediate pause is necessary to get aid in and hostages out, and then we want to build towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to the fighting. FCDO Ministers hold regular meetings with their counterparts.

British Nationals Abroad: Sikhs

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reports of alleged assassinations of Sikh activists in the US and Canada on British Sikhs living abroad.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: British Sikhs are an important part of our society and continue to make a hugely valuable contribution to British life. We are committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief for all. Where required, we offer consular support and assistance to British nationals worldwide. Any individual in need of consular assistance can contact the nearest British High Commission or Consulate. Our consular contact numbers are available 24/7. We constantly review our travel advice for each country or territory to ensure it includes up-to-date information, including advice for British nationals on safety and security, and update travel advice as quickly as possible if we are aware of an incident that might significantly affect British people travelling or living in the area.

Black Sea: Shipping

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made a recent estimate of the volume of food and grain being shipped out of Ukraine via the Black Sea.

Leo Docherty: Ukraine's military successes are generating positive economic outcomes in the Black Sea. In the face of Russian aggression, with our support and that of international partners, Ukraine established a maritime corridor to export goods via its Black Sea ports in September 2023.Commercial confidence in the corridor has grown at such a pace that monthly exports of agricultural produce have now reached 4.6 million tonnes, the highest levels since the war began. If these levels are maintained, Ukraine is likely to export all its harvest this year.

British Virgin Islands: Politics and Government

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help support good governance in the British Virgin Islands.

David Rutley: In 2021, the UK Government supported the then Governor's decision to launch an independent Commission of Inquiry (COI) into governance in the BVI and provided £2.7 million to cover the costs of the Inquiry.Since the publication of the COI Report in April 2022, the FCDO have been working to support the elected BVI government and the Governor as they deliver a comprehensive governance reform programme based on the Report's recommendations.In addition to funding extra staff in the Governor's Office to support this work, we are also providing £1.2 million of support and technical assistance. I [Minister Rutley] visited BVI from 4-6 February for discussions with the Premier and others to press the need to accelerate delivery and meet agreed deadlines.

West Bank: Violence

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will apply Magnitsky-style sanctions to (a) Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, (b) Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, (d) David Chai Chasdai, (e) Einan Tanjil, (f) Shalom Zicherman and (g) Yinon Levi, in the context of (i) the US President's executive order in relation to settler violence in the West Bank and (ii) the Foreign Secretary's announcement that he will ban those responsible for settler violence from entering the UK.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK continues to take a strong stance against settler violence and urges Israel to take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable. As noted, we will prevent those responsible for settler violence in the West Bank from entering the UK.

Red Sea: Piracy

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the disruption to shipping in the Red Sea on international food security.

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made a recent assessment of the impact of the disruption to shipping in the Red Sea on food supplies to the developing world.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Houthi's attacks in the Red Sea are putting innocent lives at risk, threatening the global economy and destabilising the region. Risks to food security and price increases are higher in the region, especially in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Lebanon, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen.The Government is working closely with shipping operators to mitigate any potential impact on consumers.

Nicaragua: Religious Freedom

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department is taking steps to support freedom of religion and belief in Nicaragua.

David Rutley: The UK is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all. We share widespread international concern about the suppression of human rights in Nicaragua, including the right to freedom of religion or belief. In June 2023, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy, Fiona Bruce MP, in her capacity as Chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, issued an international statement condemning the continued persecution of the Catholic Church by the Nicaraguan Government. In my [Minister Rutley] tweet on 16 January, I welcomed the release of Bishop Álvarez and 18 other clergy from their unjust detention but condemned their expulsion from Nicaragua. The UK calls on President Ortega to fully respect the human rights of all citizens and to unconditionally release all political prisoners.

Belarus: Religious Freedom

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his Belarussian counterpart on freedom of religion or belief in that country.

Leo Docherty: The UK continues to monitor closely Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Belarus, and we are aware of recent concerning legislative amendments regarding religious organisations. The Lukashenko regime's repression and support for Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine have limited our bilateral contact. Following Belarus' fraudulent 2020 presidential election, the former Minister for Europe (Wendy Morton MP) spoke with Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei in a phone call to express our grave concern over the conduct of the election and subsequent repression targeting protestors. There has been no contact between UK Ministers and their Belarusian counterparts since then.The British Embassy in Minsk continues to support and engage with religious groups in Belarus. Belarus remains a human rights priority country for the UK; we are determined to hold the regime accountable for its actions.

Ministry of Defence

Army: Equality

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the Army Race Action Plan.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I will write to the right hon. Member when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Radar and Radio Waves: Health Hazards

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of working in close proximity to (a) radar systems and (b) other radio frequency radiation emitters on incidences of cancer.

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential level of risk posed by working in close proximity to radio frequency emitters.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Joint Service Publication (JSP) 392, Management of radiation protection in defence, provides defence staff with guidance on radiological protection of personnel within establishments and units to prevent harm. This includes applying safety standards which set the limits for exposure, and ensuring defence personnel are aware and equipped to manage working with these hazards. In conjunction with JSP 392, JSP 375, Management of health and safety in Defence, mandates that all military activities must be risk assessed to identify and manage potential risks, including working in close proximity to radio frequency emitters. The accountable person, who may be a commander or manager, is responsible for identifying risks and providing mitigations to prevent harm.

Armed Forces: Foreign Nationals

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of (a) Commonwealth and (b) other foreign nationals serving in the armed forces earn more than £29,000 a year.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of (a) Commonwealth and (b) other foreign nationals serving in the armed forces earn more than £38,700 a year.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the right hon. Member's Questions. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Radio Waves: Health Hazards

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has taken steps to ensure that medical advisors at Veterans UK are trained to (a) monitor and (b) record cancer incidences among veterans who have worked in close proximity to radio frequency radiation emitters.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The role of Medical Advisers is to provide medical advice regarding the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and to certify medical decisions in the War Pensions Scheme (WPS).Their role does not encompass the monitoring of, or recording of cancer incidence of veterans who have worked in close proximity to radio frequency radio emitters. Owing to their role and the information available to them, there would be no circumstances under which it would be possible for them to do so.

Veterans: Employment Schemes

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help increase the uptake of job transition services for veterans.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Resettlement services are offered to all personnel leaving the Regular Armed Forces with employment support and training delivered through the an official provider, the Career Transition Partnership (CTP). CTP supports the transition from military to civilian life through a range of career and employment support services . CTP works with hundreds of employers who recognise the talent pool leaving the Armed Forces and the skills, experience and strong working ethos Service leavers bring with them after a military career. Although the CTP service is available to all personnel who qualify, some may choose not to use it. From 27 November 2023 all Service leavers have been automatically registered with the CTP and must now actively ‘opt out’. Over the past 25 years the CTP has provided transition support to over 310,000 Service leavers across all ranks and Services, with an average of 15,000 accessing the programme each year. Defence Statistics have published annual figures detailing employment outcomes for Service leavers who left during 2021/22 on www.GOV.uk - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/career-transition-partnership-ex-service-personnel-employment-outcomes-financial-year-202122. 87% of Service personnel who left the UK Armed Forces and used a billable CTP service were employed after six months.

Home Office

Entry Clearances: Sudan

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people from Sudan applying for entry clearance to the UK have requested that (a) the biometric enrolment process be excused and (b) the application be predetermined since April 2023.

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and in what proportion of cases he has (a) excused the biometric enrolment process and (b) predetermined the application for people applying for entry clearance to the UK from Sudan since April 2003.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office does not routinely publish data on the number of applications that are excused from the biometric enrolment process and those that are pre-determined due to applicants undertaking unsafe journeys. Biometrics, in the form of fingerprints and facial images, underpin the current UK immigration system to support identity assurance and suitability checks on foreign nationals who are subject to immigration control. They enable comprehensive checks to be made against immigration and criminality records to identify those who pose a threat to our national security, public safety, immigration controls, or are likely to breach our laws if they are allowed to come to the UK. The threshold in the unsafe journeys guidance for excusing the requirement to attend a visa application centre is deliberately set at a high-level because of the need to protect the integrity of the UK border. If we do not know about a person's identity we are less able to assess the risks they may pose to the public. This is why we would only excuse applicants from being required to attend a visa application centre to enrol their biometrics in circumstances that are so compelling as to be exceptional.

Horticulture: Seasonal Workers

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has taken steps with Cabinet colleagues to issue guidance to people with horticultural seasonal worker visas on how to register with a GP; and what information his Department holds on the number and proportion of people with horticultural seasonal worker visas who registered with a GP in 2022.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has no plans to issue guidance to people with Seasonal Worker visas as to how to register with a GP. Orientation information is a matter for their licenced scheme operator.The Home Office holds no records on the numbers of Seasonal Workers who have registered with a GP, as this is not an immigration related metric.In the event that a scheme operator for the Seasonal Worker route became unlicensed for any reason, the Home Office will consider each case on its own merits and tailor our response accordingly.The Home Office does not hold data on the average number of weeks of work provided to workers on the horticultural seasonal worker visa scheme during (a) 2022 and (b) 2023. Since 12 April 2023, Seasonal Workers must receive a minimum of 32 hour’s pay for each week of their stay in the UK, regardless of whether work is available.The Home Office does not hold data on how many workers on the horticultural seasonal worker visa scheme were injured at work during (a) 2022 and (b) 2023. Seasonal Workers enjoy the same workplace protections as resident workers, and as such workplace safety is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive.

Asylum

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether initial asylum decisions have been made for claims made before 28 June 2022.

Tom Pursglove: In December 2022, the Prime Minister pledged to clear 92,601 legacy asylum claims (those lodged before the 28 June 2022) by the end of 2023. The Home Office not only cleared the equivalent 92,000 legacy asylum backlog, but exceeded it, processing over 112,000 cases in total. Of the 112,138 initial asylum decisions, 86,800 of these decisions were made on legacy claims, with a further 25,338 decisions on flow claims. Please see Statistics relating to Illegal Migration - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Around 4,500 legacy claims require further investigation. We will never compromise the integrity of the UK immigration system and will ensure that rigorous checks are made on these claims before decisions are made. Indeed, since the end of December 2023, we have continued to make decisions on cases in the legacy backlog and will continue to do so. We will publish data on the number of outstanding decisions in the legacy cohort in the usual way.

Armed Forces: Foreign Nationals

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) changes to minimum income thresholds and (b) other changes to legal migration rules for (i) family and (ii) work visas apply to members of the armed forces.

Tom Pursglove: We will set out full details of changes to the Immigration Rules for members of the Armed Forces when we intend to lay the Immigration Rules on 14 March.

Educational Testing Service

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people accused by Educational Testing Service of cheating in its Test of English for International Communication have received compensation from the Government; and how much has been paid out in that compensation.

Tom Pursglove: The information requested is not held in a reportable format and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Fisheries: Seasonal Workers

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the exemption from immigration rules for seasonal workers in the perishable food industry extends to those in the fish processing sector.

Tom Pursglove: The Government operates no exemption from Immigration Rules for seasonal workers in the perishable food industry. Within the Immigration Rules, the Government operates the Seasonal Worker route which allows up to 45,000 workers to come to the UK for up to six months to pick both edible and ornamental crops (e.g. fruit and flower picking). The route also enables up to 2,000 poultry to come to the UK in the run up to Christmas. The Seasonal Worker route is specifically designed to support the UK horticulture and poultry sectors – both sectors which typically require higher volumes of labour, for relatively short-term periods of time, in line with seasonal production peaks. The route is not designed to support non-seasonal roles, operating on a year-round basis, such as fish processing.

Asylum: Employment

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the economic benefits of allowing asylum seekers to work if they have been waiting six months or more for an initial decision.

Tom Pursglove: Asylum seekers who have had their claim outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own, are allowed to work. Those permitted to work are restricted to jobs on the Shortage Occupation List. This is based on expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee. It is the Home Office’s assessment that any analysis in this area is dependent on making assumptions from limited evidence and will therefore produce uncertain results.Whilst we keep all policies under review, there are no immediate plans to change the existing policy, other than aligning it with the upcoming Immigration Salary List, which replaces the SOL. It is important that we distinguish between individuals who need protection and those seeking to work here who can apply for a work visa under the Immigration Rules. The Government has always been clear that asylum seekers do not need to make perilous journeys in order to seek employment in the UK. Those in need of protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.Whilst there is mixed evidence that access to work in itself is a pull factor, it is reasonable to assume that this is one element in a range of factors that may drive illegal migration rather than use of legal routes to work in the UK. These routes include Skilled Worker, Global Talent, and Health and Care routes, which are supporting UK businesses to recruit workers with the skills and talent they need from around the world.

Police: Mental Health Services

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support is provided to serving police officers with mental health problems.

Chris Philp: This Government takes the mental health of the police workforce very seriously and we are committed to making improvements in wellbeing support for officers and staff.Through the Police Covenant, we continue to work with policing partners to ensure those who work in policing and their families get the support and protection they need. We have already delivered pre-deployment mental health support for all new starters and established a Chief Medical Officer for policing.Suicide is a particularly sensitive and difficult issue and usually involves a combination of many factors, which means that it is not straightforward to classify by default as a work-related incident. There is an existing system in which deaths are examined by a Coroner and a Coroner can already refer cases to the Health and Safety Executive, or other public body, if they consider there is an ongoing risk to others.Any suicide is devastating and that is why, through the Police Covenant, we have developed a priority work stream on suicide prevention. The Home Office is also providing funding to establish and run the first year of a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support line for current and former members of the police workforce.

Crimes of Violence: Retail Trade

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will discuss attacks on employees in the retail sector at the next meeting of the National Retail Crime Steering Group.

Chris Philp: The Government is clear that violent and abusive behaviour towards any worker, particularly those who provide a valuable service to the public, is never acceptable.The National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), which I co-chair alongside the British Retail Consortium, ensures the response to retail crime is as robust as it can be. The NRCSG meets quarterly and comprises senior representatives from policing, the retail sector, retail trade associations, security providers and Government departments. Violence and abuse towards retail workers will be discussed at the next NRCSG.In October, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Retail Crime Action Plan was launched, which includes a commitment to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. These are substantial commitments, and I will use the NRCSG to hold police to account, whilst also ensuring retailers are playing their part by providing evidence of shoplifting and violence and abuse to police.In 2022, the Government took the significant step to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against those who are serving the public. Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 means the public facing nature of a victim’s role will be considered an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing for assault offences, allowing the court to give a longer sentence within the statutory maximum for the offence.

Department for Education

Schools: Concrete

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools were constructed using block and beam concrete in each local authority.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average expected design life is of schools constructed using block and beam concrete.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made a recent assessment of the safety of school buildings constructed using block and beam concrete.

Damian Hinds: It is the responsibility of those running schools – academy trusts, local authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies – to collect and record information about their buildings and to ensure they are safe, well-maintained and comply with relevant regulations. The department supports schools and colleges on how this should be done in the Good Estate Management for Schools guidance, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools.The department does not hold a central register of construction types used in the education estate. Beam and block is one of the most common construction methods and is used across many building types. As for all construction materials, its lifespan will depend on its maintenance history and use.Departmental officials have regular discussions with relevant professional bodies and leading material specialists to ensure they are aware of any emerging evidence regarding the safety of construction materials used in the education estate.

Translation Services: Schools

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much has been spent on translation services in schools from English to (a) Polish, (b) Arabic, (c) Urdu, (d) Panjabi and (e) Romanian in each of the last five years.

Damian Hinds: I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for South Holland and The Deepings, to the answer of 30 January 2024 to questions 10704 and 10705.

Department for Education: Health and Safety

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether all (a) buildings and (b) workplaces staff from their Department occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Damian Hinds: All buildings occupied by the department have suitable and sufficient risk assessments in place as per the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requirements.Where the Government Property Agency are the asset owners, they also maintain building risk assessments.

Apprentices

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support service sector apprenticeships.

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many service sector apprenticeships were available in each of the last 12 months.

Robert Halfon: The department is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year to support employers of all sizes and in all sectors, including the service sector, to benefit from the high-quality training that apprenticeships offer.The department has removed the limit to the number of apprentices that small and medium sized enterprises can take on and have cut by a third the number of steps needed to register to take on an apprentice.The department continues to promote apprenticeships in schools and colleges through the Apprenticeships Support and Knowledge Programme, supported by £3.2 million of investment each year. The Career Starter Apprenticeships campaign is also promoting apprenticeships at Levels 2 and 3, including Level 2 Hospitality Team Member, which offer great opportunities for those leaving full-time education. In addition, students can now see apprenticeship vacancies on their University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) hub and later this year they will be able to apply for apprenticeships on UCAS.Apprenticeship starts by sector are published as part of the department’s apprenticeship statistics releases. The statistics released also show the number of apprenticeship vacancies published on the department’s Find an Apprenticeship service. These statistics are accessible at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships#explore-data-and-files.

Academies

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications by academy trusts to her Department to sell school grounds have been successful.

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications by academy trusts in Norwich to her Department to sell school grounds have been successful.

Damian Hinds: Departmental officials have checked records from 1 January 2020 to 12 February 2024, and the total number of successful applications from academy trusts for the freehold sale of school land is 49.The department’s policy is that capital receipts from the disposal of publicly funded playing field land should ordinarily be reinvested in improving sports provision at the affected school or local schools. Capital receipts from the disposal of publicly funded non-playing field land should be reinvested in capital projects at the affected school or local schools. Playing field land is defined widely as: land in the open air which is provided for the purposes of physical education or recreation.Departmental officials have checked the records from 1 January 2020 to 12 February 2024, and the department has not received any applications from academy trusts in Norwich to sell school land.

Schools: North Tyneside

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent (a) assessment she has made of and (b) steps she has taken to help ensure the safety of school buildings in North Tyneside.

Damian Hinds: Academy trusts, local authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies are responsibile for ensuring their schools are safe, well-maintained and compliant with relevant regulations.The department is working closely with North Tyneside Council and their structural engineers who are investigating the cause of isolated issues at a small number of schools in the area. Once investigations have been completed, the relevant bodies will be informed of any findings.Where construction issues in schools arise, the department works closely with responsible bodies to ensure that the issue is thoroughly investigated and mitigated, and that all steps are taken to minimise disruption to pupil learning.

Special Educational Needs

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's policy is on the publication of the strategic delivery plans for each SEND Change Programme Partnership.

David Johnston: Each of the Change Programme Partnerships (CPP) has developed a Strategic Delivery Plan, which outlines their plan for delivery across their local areas for the duration of the Change Programme.These plans are specifically for the department to understand how the CPPs will work with each other, the department and delivery partners to deliver the Change Programme. As such, these are internal working documents and are not intended for publication.The department will be sharing updates on the progress of the Change Programme in due course.

Schools: Nottingham

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the number of primary and secondary school places in Nottingham.

Damian Hinds: Section 14 of the Education Act 1996 places a statutory duty on local authorities for providing enough school places for children in their area.The department knows that local authorities have to create more school places, which is why the department provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities to provide school places, based on their own pupil forecasts and school capacity data. This Basic Need investment supports the government’s priority to ensure that every child has the opportunity of a place at a good school, whatever their background.In addition, the free schools programme remains an important part of the government’s plan to level up standards and respond where there is need for more school places. The programme has delivered hundreds of new schools and provided thousands of good school places across the country.The department’s Pupil Place Planning Advisers engage with local authorities on a regular basis to review a local authority’s plans for creating additional places. The Pupil Place Planning advisor for the East Midlands region is engaging with Nottingham local authority on their statutory duty and providing them with the offer of support and advice.

National SEND and Alternative Provision Implementation Board

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide a list of dates of meetings of the national SEND and alternative provision implementation board since  June 2023; and if she will publish the minutes of these meetings.

David Johnston: The National Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Implementation Board met on 6 June, 18 September and 12 December 2023. Information about the Board is available on GOV.UK and will continue to be updated in due course.

Question

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to promote careers for young people in science and technology industries.

Robert Halfon: High-quality careers guidance is key to helping young people to find out about and consider a wide range of future options, including careers in the science and technology industries.The department funds The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) to support schools and colleges to deliver high-quality careers programmes in line with the government’s careers framework, the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance. The benchmarks include an expectation that secondary schools and colleges should provide at least one meaningful interaction with employers per student per year, with a particular focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) employers. The benchmarks also state that all teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. For example, STEM subject teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of career pathways.CEC connects business and sector bodies with schools and colleges through a national network of Careers Hubs. Almost 400 Cornerstone Employers provide local leadership to increase opportunities for meaningful employer encounters and workplace experiences. Over 4,000 Enterprise Advisers provide support to schools and colleges in Careers Hubs to help develop their employer engagement plans, including ensuring that STEM encounters are built into careers programmes. Examples of STEM employers funded by the CEC to deliver encounters with young people include Engineering UK, Greenpower Trust and Manufacturing UK.The STEM Ambassadors programme is a nationwide network of 30,000 volunteers, representing over 7,000 employers, who engage with young people to increase their interest in STEM subjects and to raise awareness of the range of careers that STEM qualifications offer. The department is a partner signatory to the Tomorrow's Engineers Code. Through the code, the department aims to work with the engineering sector to improve the quality, targeting and reach of engineering inspiration activities.The CEC’s STEM careers webpage includes resources for schools and colleges, as well as information for employers, and is available at: https://www.stem.org.uk/secondary/careers. This includes a STEM toolkit for careers leaders. My Learning My Future resources support teachers to link careers to the curriculum and include several STEM subjects, such as science, biology, physics, chemistry, geography, design technology, computer science/IT, maths. The resources available can be viewed at: https://resources.careersandenterprise.co.uk/my-learning-my-future.Young people can also access information on a range of digital tools and resources through the National Careers Service website, which is available at: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-careers. More than 800 profiles include jobs like microbiologist, nuclear engineer and web developer within the science and technology sectors.

Question

Elliot Colburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on developing tech skills in the workforce.

Robert Halfon: Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent and skills are a vital strand of the government’s UK Science and Technology Framework, published in 2023, which aims to cement the UK’s status as a science and technology superpower by 2030.The department is working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, including through government-industry groups such as the Digital Skills Council. This brings together government and industry to address current and future demand for digital skills, including promoting routes into digital careers and the range of opportunities to re-skill and up-skill.The department is making it easier for people of all ages and backgrounds to access the STEM training they need through the ladder of opportunity provided by our skills system reforms, including:Investment of £3.8 billion over the course of this parliament to strengthen higher education (HE) and further education (FE).Scaling up delivery of apprenticeships, T Levels, Skills Bootcamps, and Higher Technical Qualifications, and establishing our network of 21 Institutes of Technology.There are over 350 high-quality, employer-designed STEM apprenticeships and from 2024 students will be able to apply for apprenticeships on the UCAS website. The number of digital, ICT practitioner apprenticeship starts have increased year-on-year since 2019/20, with 24,140 starts in the 2022/23 year (over 40% increase compared to starts in the 2019/20 year).Over 1,000 Skills Bootcamps are available across the country, offering training in tech subjects such as software development, cyber security and data analytics.The introduction of a Lifelong Learning Entitlement will transform access to FE and HE, offering all adults the equivalent of four years’ worth of student loans to use flexibly on quality education and skills training over their lifetime.These programmes are achieving the vision set out in the UK Science and Technology Framework to boost the supply of tech skills.

Treasury

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Derek Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of raising the threshold for the vehicle excise duty surcharge in line with vehicle price increases since 2015.

Gareth Davies: The Vehicle Excise Duty surcharge is a supplement in addition to the standard rate of Vehicle Excise Duty, which is applied to cars with a list price of over £40,000. This surcharge is also known as the Expensive Car Supplement, and is payable for five years following the first registration of the vehicle, commencing in year two, with the final payment due in year six. The £40,000 threshold was set as a suitable way of distinguishing the more luxury end of the new car market, meaning those who can afford the most expensive cars pay more than the standard rate paid by other drivers. However, the Government recognises that transport is a major cost for individuals and families. That is why, at Spring Budget 2023, the Government announced it would maintain the rates of fuel duty at the levels set on 23 March 2022 for an additional 12 months, by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut and cancelling the planned inflation increase for 2023-24. That represents a saving of around £100 for the average car driver this year. As with all taxes, the Government keeps the Expensive Car Supplement under review, and any changes will be announced at a future fiscal event.

Public Sector: Workplace Pensions

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps are being taken to ensure the accurate calculation of pensions for eligible individuals in the context of the McCloud remedy.

Laura Trott: The Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 (the Act) provides remedy for discrimination that arose when new public service pensions schemes were introduced between 2014 and 2016. The Act provides that members must be provided with a remediable service statement which provides detailed information about their pension benefits, including any corrections to lump sum benefits, pension benefits or contributions required by the Act. The Act and HM Treasury directions specify the information that must be provided in the remediable service statement. Scheme Managers are responsible for complying with the requirements of the Act and Treasury Directions, and providing accurate information.

Roads: Freight

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the number of road haulage businesses that entered insolvency in 2023; and whether he plans to take fiscal steps to help support the road haulage sector in the next 5 years.

Gareth Davies: The Government acknowledges the pressures the industry has faced in recent years and has taken decisive action to support the sector. This has included 33 measures in response to the driver shortage including significant investment in HGV Skills Bootcamps and on driver welfare facilities and lorry parking.Additionally, at Autumn Statement 2023 the Government announced that it is continuing its support for haulage companies by freezing HGV Vehicle Excise Duty and the HGV Levy in 2024-25. This results in a tax saving for one of the most popular HGVs (a 38-44 tonne Artic lorry with 3 axles, EURO VI) of a total of £47 per annum. These measures form a package of support for hauliers, alongside the freezing of Fuel Duty as announced at Spring Budget 2023.Like all taxes, the Government keeps HGV Vehicle Excise Duty and the HGV Levy under review.

Financial Services: Environment Protection

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department's expected timeline is on completing all stages of the UK Green Taxonomy process.

Bim Afolami: The Government remains committed to delivering a UK Green Taxonomy to support an increase in financing for activities supporting the transition to net zero and delivering on UK environmental objectives. We expect to consult shortly. Following the consultation, we will analyse responses and provide a government response in accordance with Cabinet Office consultation principles, with a view to finalising the Taxonomy. As set out in the Green Finance Strategy (2023), the Government will introduce a testing period of voluntary disclosures for at least two reporting years. In the longer term, we also maintain the ambition to introduce mandatory disclosures against a future Taxonomy.

Credit: Regulation

Stella Creasy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to publish the response to the consultation on proposed draft legislation to bring buy-now pay-later products into regulation; and, with reference to Part J of the Government's publication entitled Consultation principles: guidance updated 19 March 2018, for what reasons has the Department not responded within the 12 week timeframe.

Bim Afolami: The Government received a large number of substantive and detailed responses to its consultation on draft legislation to bring Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL) into regulation. These responses have required careful consideration to ensure that the Government’s approach to regulation is proportionate and delivers on the Government’s intention to protect BNPL borrowers without unduly restricting access to these useful interest-free products. The Government expects to publish a response to the consultation, which will set out next steps, in due course.

Financial Services: Environment Protection

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 63, page 48, of the report entitled Mobilising Green Investment: 2023 Green Finance Strategy, published in March 2023, for what reason the launch of the consultation on the next stage of the UK Green Taxonomy process has been delayed.

Bim Afolami: The Government remains committed to delivering a UK Green Taxonomy to support an increase in financing for activities supporting the transition to net zero and delivering on UK environmental objectives.Developing a usable and useful Taxonomy is a complex and technical exercise, linked to multiple sectors of the economy and various legislative and regulatory frameworks.The Government continues to work at pace and expects to publish the consultation shortly.

Foreign Companies: VAT

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times HMRC has directed non-established taxable persons whose business is not established in the EU to appoint a VAT representative in each of the last five financial years; what information his Department holds on the number and proportion of these VAT representatives that were themselves established in the UK; and how many and what proportion of non-established taxable persons whose business is not established in the EU failed to comply with such a direction.

Nigel Huddleston: HMRC does not hold data on how often they direct a non-established taxable person (NETP) to appoint a UK VAT representative, or levels of compliance.

Income Tax: Tax Allowances

Claire Hanna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to raise the personal allowance threshold in the forthcoming Budget.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government is committed to keeping taxes low to support people to keep more of what they earn. However, the Government must also ensure the UK’s economic stability and provide confidence in the commitment to fiscal discipline. The Chancellor has made clear that the UK’s public finances must be on a sustainable path into the medium term.As with all aspects of the tax system, the Government will keep the Personal Allowance under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken by the Chancellor in the context of the wider public finances.

Department for Business and Trade

Department for Business and Trade: Australia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has plans to visit (a) Adelaide, (b) Melbourne, and (c) Hobart in the next nine months.

Greg Hands: Following the Secretary of State’s visit to Australia last year to promote utilisation of the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), shortly after it entered into force, there are currently no plans for her to visit in the coming months.Representatives of His Majesty’s Government, including ministers, the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy, High Commissioner and Consul General, regularly visit Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart. The Government already has a strong trade and investment relationship with Australia which has been further strengthened by the FTA.

Business: Sovereign Wealth Funds

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it her policy to monitor firms with financial ties to sovereign wealth funds originating from countries that do not have transparent and democratic systems to ensure the (a) effective allocation, (b) efficient implementation and (c) transparent reporting of committed funds.

Kevin Hollinrake: The UK is an open economy and we welcome global investment. UK firms that have financial ties to Sovereign Wealth Funds already have to abide by the UK's regulatory regimes for corporate practice, including the Companies Act, 2006.

Shipping: Red Sea

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made a recent assessment of the impact of the disruption to shipping in the Red Sea on international trade.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: My department is closely monitoring the situation and is working with key stakeholders, businesses and across government to identify and mitigate supply chain issues. We have held regular roundtables with industry exporting and importing into the UK, shipping companies, port operators and maritime representatives to hear their concerns and inform government. The Critical Import and Supply Chains Strategy is helping businesses work in partnership with the Government to build secure and reliable supply chains vital to the UK economy, national security, and the delivery of essential services.We continue to monitor the Houthi attacks and activity in the Red Sea and are committed as a government to ensuring the Red Sea is safe for seafarers and traders to use, as shown through our commitment to Operation Prosperity Guardian.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Question

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support growth in the tech sector.

Saqib Bhatti: DSIT’s mission is to secure the UK’s status as a world-leading science and technology superpower by 2030; with communities in every corner of the country benefitting from the bold new discoveries, strong economic growth and high-skilled, high-paid jobs this will unlock.We are building from a position of strength. The UK was the third country in the world to build a $1 trillion tech sector, in addition to having the largest tech ecosystem in Europe, and creating 152 unicorns since 2000 (as of 23rd January 2024). In 2023, UK tech companies raised $21.3bn of investment, more than France ($9.2bn) and Germany ($8.2bn) combined.However, we cannot rest on our laurels. That is why in January, the Secretary of State announced the new Scaleup Forum which will bring together a group of established founders and bold investors to advise the Government on what it can do unlock the growth potential of British scale-ups and ensure that the scalable businesses of today can become the tech giants of tomorrow.

Question

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of the use of AI in primary care.

Saqib Bhatti: DSIT closely engages with all government departments on the adoption of AI, including DHSC.The Government is committed to ensuring adoption of AI in an ethical, safe and responsible way to improve public services outcomes and productivity.Ahead of the AI Summit last year, we announced a new AI in Healthcare fund, backed by £100m, to target areas where rapid deployment of AI could create transformational breakthroughs in treatments for previously incurable diseases.

Question

Mrs Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with her international counterparts on AI safety.

Michelle Donelan: I have had several such discussions including at the AI Safety Summit, during which I was pleased to meet with more than 20 Digital Ministers.I have since engaged with my counterparts from Australia, Japan, France, the US and the EU, and I have recently met with my Canadian counterpart to sign an important new agreement on compute collaboration.I will continue to discuss AI safety as we work towards the next Safety Summits hosted by the Republic of Korea and France.

Artificial Intelligence: Risk Assessment

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has set a deadline by which her Department must take steps once a risk is added to the AI risk register.

Saqib Bhatti: The appropriate mitigation plan for any risk depends on the nature of the risk itself.DSIT’s Central AI Risk Function owns the AI Risk Register and is responsible for the processes by which we identify, assess and prepare for AI risks.Mitigating these risks is a cross-Government effort and in many cases DSIT is not the lead Department or Risk Owner. We work extremely closely with other government departments, agencies and regulators to ensure we are preparing for these risks in a timely manner.

Project Gigabit: Cheshire

Edward Timpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment she has made of the progress on procurement for the Project Gigabit contract for Cheshire.

Julia Lopez: As part of Project Gigabit, in July 2023 we launched a procurement to invite suppliers to bid for a contract to bring gigabit-capable broadband to premises in Cheshire that are unlikely to be reached by broadband suppliers' commercial rollout plans. We aim to award a contract to the successful supplier by the end of March 2024.

Department for Work and Pensions

Access to Work Programme

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what has been the largest number of people awaiting a decision on their Access to Work application in any month since 1994.

Mims Davies: The information requested about Access to Work decisions since 1994 is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's spend on the youth offer was in the last financial year.

Mims Davies: The Department of Work and Pensions Youth Offer provides individually tailored work coach support to young people aged 16 to 24 who are claiming Universal Credit. This support includes the Youth Employment Programme, Youth Employability Coaches for young people with additional barriers to finding work, and Youth Hubs across Great Britain.Previously, the Youth Offer was only available for those searching for work. As of the 25 September 2023, this been expanded to include to include additional young people on Universal Credit not currently searching for work, including young parents and carers.The information regarding the Department’s total spend on the Youth Offer is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.The information regarding the Department’s spend on grants to support the opening and operation of Youth Hubs in each financial year since they were launched is not held.The indicative Youth Hub Work Coach costs for the previous three financial years are:2020/2021 - £1.1m2021/2022 - £5.4m2022/2023 - £4.8m NB:This excludes estates, digital, support and other operations costs.This data is derived from DWP's Activity Based Model (ABM) and/or Departmental Activity Based Model (DABM) and is unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only. It has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standards.The data is frequently revised and changes to definitions / benefits / DWP structure effect comparisons over time. It should therefore be treated with caution and must be seen as an indication of cost, rather than the actual cost.Youth Employability Coaches and other Jobcentre staff may also work from Youth Hubs which is not reflected in this data.

Access to Work Programme

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were awaiting a decision on their Access to Work application on the first day of each month in 2023.

Mims Davies: The following number of applications were awaiting a decision on their Access to Work applications on the first day of each month in 2023:January 2023 – 24,490February 2023 – 24,603March 2023 – 24,540April 2023 – 23,915May 2023 – 24,169June 2023 – 23,289July 2023 – 23,143August 2023 – 22,663September 2023 – 21,985October 2023 – 23,348November 2023 – 24,107December 2023 – 25,063Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.

Universal Credit: Disqualification

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when Ministers in his Department last requested information from officials on the (a) number, (b) age and (c) disabilities of children living in households subject to a Universal Credit sanction.

Jo Churchill: Ministers frequently ask officials for data and information on a wide range of subjects both informally and formally. Statistics are published regularly showing the number of Universal Credit full-service customers with a payment that has been reduced due to a sanction. These can be found in the Universal Credit sanction rates dataset on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml). Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, they can also access guidance (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html) on how to extract the information required.

Universal Credit: Disqualification

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 16 October 2023 to Question 199738 on Universal Credit: Disqualification, for what reason information on the number of children living in households subject to a Universal Credit sanction is not readily available.

Jo Churchill: The Department records information on the number of children living in Universal Credit households and these are published every three months as part of the official Universal Credit statistics (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics). The Department also records information on the number of people who have received a sanction on Universal Credit, and these are published every three months as part of the official Benefit Sanctions Statistics (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/jobseekers-allowance-sanctions). These statistics are produced using different methodologies and it is not possible to provide appropriately quality assured statistics within the disproportionate cost limit.

Universal Credit: Dispute Resolution

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many real time information disputes were raised by Universal Credit claimants in each of the last 12 months.

Jo Churchill: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people convicted of crimes who are detained in secure hospitals are receiving benefits.

Mims Davies: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Disability Living Allowance

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the impact delays in change of circumstance requests for Disability Living Allowance claims have on the welfare of those children and their families.

Mims Davies: In certain cases, delays may occur due to the gathering of evidence from the NHS or Schools but, where possible, we are aiming to gather this from the parent/guardian of the child to expedite this. We have seen a significant increase in claims, which results in us deploying our people accordingly to ensure we manage service across the entire business.

Sick Leave

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an estimate of the number of people on long-term sick leave as of 7 February 2024.

Mims Davies: The Department does not hold data on individuals who are currently taking a long-term sickness absence. However, the Department’s 2019 ‘Health in the Workplace’ publication showed that in the previous 12 months, 1.4m working aged people (aged 16-64) in the UK had a total of 1.8m spells of long term (lasting 4 weeks or more) sickness absences. This analysis uses the cross-sectional Annual Population Survey (APS) January 2018 – December 2018. The publication can be found here.

Jobcentres: Food Banks

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had recent discussions with foodbank operators on jobcentre referral slips.

Jo Churchill: Officials meet regularly with both the Trussell Trust and the Independent Food Aid Network. The meetings cover a broad range of topics, including signposting slips.

Ministry of Justice

HM Courts and Tribunals Service

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases the Tribunals Service has completed in each of the last five years.

Mike Freer: Information about the number of Tribunal cases administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service that were disposed in each of the last five years is published in Tribunal Statistics: Tribunal Statistics Quarterly: July to September 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).HMCTS continues to invest in improving tribunal productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems and the use of remote hearing technology.

Tribunals Service

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of claims to the Tribunals Service since 1 April 2023 were not in relation to financial awards.

Mike Freer: Tribunals administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service exercise a wide and diverse range of jurisdictions, including appeals against decisions made by public bodies and party versus party claims.The number and proportion of claims not relating to financial awards varies by tribunal jurisdiction and a breakdown of claims by jurisdiction is published quarterly in Tribunal Statistics: Tribunal Statistics Quarterly: July to September 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Tribunals Service

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of claims to the Tribunals Service were in relation to (a) unfair dismissal, (b) unpaid wages, (c) unpaid holiday pay and (d) unlawful discrimination since April 2023.

Mike Freer: Information on the proportion of claims accepted by the Employment Tribunal Service for the period up to September 2023 are outlined in the attached table.Data is a subset of the published statistics.Statistical information in relation to the Employment Tribunal can be found in our published stats: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.We currently only have data published up to September 2023.Table_14066 (xls, 69.0KB)

Wandsworth Prison: Staff

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many days HMP Wandsworth has been at a (a) red, (b) amber-red and (c) amber-green operating state since 1 February 2023.

Edward Argar: During the period since 1 Feb 2023, the regime at the prison has been at Green-Amber status for three weeks, and at Amber-Red for 51 weeks. Amber-Red confers that a safe, decent, secure, resilient and sustainable regime is being delivered, including purposeful activities, showers and exercise, and all essential services.To improve regime delivery there has been significant focus on the recruitment of staff at HMP Wandsworth, with 66 new prison officers currently in training and being deployed to the prison in the coming weeks. In the meantime, HMP Wandsworth is being provided with continuing support through additional “Payment Plus” hours, equivalent to 39 additional prison officers. The Prison will continue to receive support as required and regularly reviews the level of regime it is able safely to deliver.

Wandsworth Prison: Labour Turnover

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2024 to Question 11801 on Prison Officers: Labour Turnover, how many and what proportion of prison officers recruited at Wandsworth Prison in 2023 had left the prison service on 9 February 2024.

Edward Argar: The quarterly HMPPS workforce statistics publication covers staffing information, including leavers, and the latest publication covers data up to 31 December 2023. Figures covering data up to 31 March 2024 are due for publication on 16 May 2024 and therefore this information cannot be released.In the period from 01 January 2023 to 31 December 2023, there were 113 band 3-5 prison officers who joined HMP Wandsworth. Details of the number and proportion who have left HMPPS as of 31 December 2023 are given in the table below. Table 1: Status of band 3-5 prison officers (1) who joined (2) HMP Wandsworth between 01 January 2023 and 31 December 2023 - as of 31 December 2023Remained or leftHeadcountPercentageWorking in public sector prisons (including YCS)10693.8%Left HMPPS altogether76.2%Total113100.0%Notes to table 1:(1) Includes Bands 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officer and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.(2) New recruits joining HMPPS - does not include internal transfers or conversions. Across HMPPS, retention continues to be a priority. Exit interviews have been in place since 2021 to determine the reasons for leaving and appropriate action needed. Retention strategies and toolkits based around drivers of attrition, such as leadership and career progression, have been in place since 2021 to determine appropriate national and local interventions.

Bedford Prison: Segregation of Prisoners

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been held on the segregation unit at HMP Bedford since 17 November 2023.

Edward Argar: As records of prisoners who have left the prison on transfer or on release are no longer accessible to the prison, it is not possible, without incurring disproportionate cost, to say how many individual prisoners were segregated during the period.

Bedford Prison: Segregation of Prisoners

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of plans to replace the segregation unit at HMP Bedford.

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects the new segregation unit at HMP Bedford to be (a) completed and (b) opened.

Edward Argar: The design brief for the new care and separation unit at HMP Bedford was to identify a suitable location for a facility which would address HMIP concerns while minimising the impacts on operational capacity, security and regime. The proposal agreed with the Prison was to covert part of B wing into the new unit in place of place the old one.The care and separation unit is due to be completed in early March 2024, however additional works are required in B wing before the wing can be put back into use. While the programme for this is not yet finalised, the aim is for the new unit to open before the end of the year.

Prison Officers: Crimes of Violence

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults on prison officers have involved razors in each of the last 24 months.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults on prison officers involving razors have resulted in (a) hospitalisation and (b) prison officers leaving the service in each of the last 24 months.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been successfully prosecuted for attacks on prison officers with razors in each of the last 24 months.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of assaults on prison officers involving razors.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of ending the supply of razors to prisoners.

Edward Argar: The number of assaults on prison officers involving razors in each of the last 24 months, and subsequently how many of those have resulted in (a) hospitalisation or (b) prison officers leaving the service could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Data on how many prisoners have been successfully prosecuted for attacks on prison officers with razors could also only be obtained at disproportionate cost. We are committed to making prisons a safe place to work and recognise the risks associated with the current wet shave razor provision. In the 2021 Prison Safety White Paper, we committed to trial alternatives to wet-shave razors in prisons to test whether a change in approach might lead to a safer environment for both prisoners and staff. Throughout 2022 and 2023 six pilots have been carried out in the male estate and one carried out in the female estate.Testing at all sites has now concluded and the results are being evaluated. The evaluation will consider outcomes, learning and positive practice from across all pilot sites and will be measured against the impact they have had on violence and/or self-harm. The evaluation will be completed by the end of March 2024. This evaluation will enable us to make informed recommendations on future shaving provision in prison establishments.

Alcoholic Drinks: Electronic Tagging

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish data on the gender of people ordered to wear an alcohol monitoring device in each year since 2020.

Gareth Bacon: Alcohol monitored, electronic monitoring subjects by gender, England and Wales, at month's end, from March 2021. Source: AMS Contractor data.  Mar-21Mar-22Mar-23 Males and Females   NumberFemales7116248NumberMales287781,991NumberOther..49Total numberTotal358982,248 Males and Females   Proportion of totalFemales20%13%11%Proportion of totalMales80%87%89%Proportion of totalOther..0%0%These figures are drawn from administrative data systems provided by contractors. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent.‘Other’ refers to instances in which data on gender has not been received, or the individual has not disclosed their gender or identifies as non-binary. The table includes individuals wearing an alcohol monitoring device and subject to an Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement (AAMR) as a requirement of a community order or suspended sentence order, and individuals subject to an Alcohol Monitoring on Licence (AML) condition following custody. AAMR is a community-based sentence requirement for alcohol related offending which imposes an alcohol ban for up to 120 days, compliance is electronically monitored using an alcohol tag. AAMR was introduced in Wales in October 2020 and was expanded to all England and Wales in March 2021. AML allows probation to impose an additional licence condition that either bans drinking alcohol or limits use, monitored by an alcohol tag. Rollout in England and Wales was completed in June 2022.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national offenders were removed from the country through a prison transfer agreement each year since 2010; and if he will list which countries were they removed to.

Edward Argar: Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity. Where appropriate, the Government will also seek to permanently remove foreign criminals from the UK via the Early Removal Scheme once they have served the minimum required of their sentence. This is our best performing removal scheme with 5,262 Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) having been removed between January 2019 and June 2022.The Home Office removed 16,676 foreign national offenders since January 2019 to September 2023. Published figures show that FNO returns have increased in the latest 12-month period (ending September 2023) by 19% when compared to previous 12-month period.Our new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Albania entered into force in May 2023 and we have signed a new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with the Philippines. We are looking to negotiate new Prisoner Transfer Agreements with key EU Member States and wider-world countriesForeign national offender removals via Prisoner Transfer Agreements since 2010: Year:Removals:201046201133201241201344201434201557201699201710720181112019136202081202173202250202333 Countries or Territories we have removed foreign national offenders to via Prisoner Transfer Agreements since 2010: AlbaniaDenmarkLatviaSlovakiaAustriaEcuadorLithuaniaSloveniaBelgiumEstoniaMacedoniaSpainBermudaFranceMaltaSri LankaBoliviaGermanyMontenegroSt HelenaBrazilGhanaNetherlandsSwedenBulgariaGibraltarNigeriaSwitzerlandCanadaGreeceNorwayTurkeyCaymanHungaryPakistanUkraineChileIndiaPolandVietnamCroatiaIrelandPortugal IraqCyprusIsraelRomania Czech RepublicItalySaudi

Cabinet Office

Civil Servants: Cost of Living Payments

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make the cost-of-living payment made to civil servants in the year to 31 March 2023 available to all civil servants (a) employed and (b) who retired in that year.

John Glen: I refer the Honourable Member for Coventry South to the answer given on 25th October 2023 in response to PQ 203635.

Customs: Digital Technology

Stella Creasy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish his response to the Government's consultation on the UK Single Trade Window.

Alex Burghart: The Cabinet Office will look to publish the government’s response to the UK Single Trade Window: Consultation on Features to Inform Design and Legislation in the coming weeks.

Government Departments: Marketing

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of Government marketing expenditure has been for local newspapers in each year since 2015.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the proportion of Government marketing expenditure received by local newspapers.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of Government marketing expenditure has been with social media corporations in each year since 2015.

Alex Burghart: The requested spend information is not held centrally.The Government runs a number of advertising campaigns across a range of media channels. Channels are selected based on whether they will reach a campaign’s target audience effectively to have the most impact.Local media channels such as print and radio are regularly used in campaigns to help reach hard to reach audiences. Social media is also an essential part of government communications used to reach younger audiences and help to inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.

Northern Ireland Office

Public Finance: Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what his planned timetable is for the Northern Ireland Assembly to bring forward revenue raising proposals.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The UK Government remains determined to support the Executive to unlock the opportunities that the financial package presents. To help stabilise the Executive’s financial position, the UK Government has agreed to pause its debt repayments from 2022-23 and 2023-24 of up to £559 million and will no longer require these funds to be repaid, subject to the Executive publishing a plan by May 2024 which outlines how it will deliver sustainable public finances and services and demonstrating implementation of that plan by May 2025. This sustainability plan must include the delivery of a balanced budget for 2024-25 by raising a minimum of £113 million through locally generated income. It will be for the Executive to determine if it will consider a different course of action to deliver the public services that Northern Ireland needs as part of its sustainability plan.

Department for Transport

Speed Limits

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his planned timetable is for the publication of guidance for local authorities on 20mph speed limits.

Guy Opperman: The Department is finalising the details to the guidance update on setting local speed limits and in respect of 20mph speed limits, as announced in the Plan for Drivers. This will be published in due course.

Pedestrian Crossings

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to enforce pedestrian priority at pedestrian crossing points without traffic control measures as set out in the update to the Highway Code in January 2022.

Guy Opperman: The Highway Code changes to improve road safety for people walking, cycling, and riding horses aim to initiate a positive shift in road user behaviour, by making road users aware of their responsibility to use roads safely and reduce the danger they may pose to others. Enforcement of the law is a matter for the police, who will decide on the evidence of each individual case, whether an offence has been committed and the appropriate action to take.

Fishing Vessels: Surveillance

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2024 to Question 13142 on Fishing Vessels: Surveillance, what the cost of flights were for DWF lawyers in 2023.

Guy Opperman: There has been no cost for flights for DWF lawyers in 2023.

Avanti West Coast: Standards

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Avanti West Coast on levels of train cancellations.

Huw Merriman: Officials meet Avanti West Coast’s (AWC) senior management regularly and will continue to closely monitor AWC’s progress to a sustained recovery, restoring services reliably on the West Coast and delivering the kind of service passengers rightly expect. The Rail Minister met with AWC’s Managing Director in January to challenge the operator on its operational resilience and review its plans for continued recovery in 2024. We will always hold AWC responsible for matters within its control.

Train Operating Companies: Standards

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the SQR (a) data and (b) benchmarks used for train operating companies in financial years (i) 2022-23 and (ii) 2023-24.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which train operating companies are not meeting contractual benchmarks for service quality.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which train operating companies have notified him that they have not met contractually agreed benchmarks for service quality since 18 September 2022.

Huw Merriman: Train operators are required to publish their Service Quality Regime (SQR) results on their websites each reporting period, alongside the contractual benchmarks.The Department regularly discusses and reviews service quality performance with all operators and can take further action where scores are consistently below benchmark. Underperformance also impacts upon the amount of annual performance fee earned by private sector operators.

Train Operating Companies: Standards

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the (a) operational performance benchmarks and (b) default performance levels for train operating companies on National Rail contracts.

Huw Merriman: The Department holds operators to account for their performance through the National Rail Contracts. Whilst the Department does not publish details of operational performance benchmarks, we require operators to publish performance metrics on their websites and will publish annual performance fees on gov.uk once all performance fees are finalised.

High Speed 2 Line: Costs

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2024 to Question 12372 on High Speed 2 Line: Costs, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) acquiring and (b) managing (i) land and (ii) property associated with HS2 Phase 2 in (A) financial year 2024-25 and (B) the next five years.

Huw Merriman: Details regarding HS2 budgets for financial year 2024-25 are still being finalised. Funding regarding the period beyond FY2024-25 will be subject to an agreement of the next fiscal event.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Buildings: Carbon Emissions

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Net Zero Strategy, last updated on 5 October 2022, what recent progress he has made on his assessment of a maximum level for embodied carbon in new buildings; and when he plans to consult on proposals to reduce those levels.

Lee Rowley: The 2021 Net Zero Strategy set out Government’s ambition to help the construction sector improve reporting on embodied carbon in buildings and confirmed we are exploring maximum embodied carbon levels in new buildings in the future.Government intends to seek views on possible approaches to the measurement and reduction of embodied carbon in due course.

Freehold and Property Management Companies: Misconduct

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many cases of (a) freehold and (b) management company misconduct have been reported in the last 12 months.

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a redress scheme to enable leaseholders to bring complaint cases against their freeholder.

Lee Rowley: There is no one set of information which captures the full extent of leaseholder concerns as these come in many forms.Leaseholders have a number of routes to redress including challenging the reasonableness of costs or services provided at the Property Tribunal, making a complaint through a freeholder or managing agent’s own complaints procedures, or using a government approved redress scheme of which all managing agents must belong by law.Through the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill the Government will expand routes of redress for leaseholders where their landlord carries out their own management of the building by requiring these landlords to join a redress scheme.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Consultants

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much his Department spent on external consultants in 2023.

Simon Hoare: Figures for consultancy spend are included each year in the department's annual report.

Private Rented Housing: Mould

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to take steps to support tenants of private landlords to take action against landlords who (a) refuse to act and (b) delay acting on cases of (i) damp and (ii) mould.

Jacob Young: We have been very clear that where landlords of private rented sector properties fail to act on damp and mould, local authorities must support tenants by holding landlords to account, including taking enforcement action where necessary.

Rents: Greater Manchester

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential impact of Build to Rent housing developments on the level of average rental costs in (a) Stockport and (b) Greater Manchester.

Jacob Young: The Build to Rent sector has delivered thousands of new, high-quality rental homes in recent years helping to boost housing supply, drive up standards and increase choice for tenants.The Government does not disaggregate the build to rent sector in the data sets on local rental markets which are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-rents-lettings-and-tenancies.

Rents

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to (a) review and (b) amend the maximum fair rent inflationary index set in the Rent Act 1977.

Jacob Young: The Government has no plans to amend the Rent Act 1977 or Maximum Fair Rent Order 1999.

Ground Rent: Reform

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to assess the risk of legal challenge to proposed policies in the consultation entitled Modern leasehold: restricting ground rent for existing leases.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Modern leasehold: restricting ground rent for existing leases, which closed on 17 January 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential cost to the public purse of providing compensation to freeholders under those proposals.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Modern leasehold: restricting ground rent for existing leases, which closed on 17 January 2024, whether he has has had discussions with colleagues on the compliance of those proposals with human rights law.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposals in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill on pensioners whose income comes partly from ground rent.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to para 1.12 of his Department's consultation entitled Modern leasehold: restricting ground rent for existing leases, which closed on 17 January 2024, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of capping ground rents at a peppercorn on the pensions industry.

Lee Rowley: Government has consulted on a range of options to restrict ground rent in existing leases and asked questions about the effects of these proposals. We received a significant number of responses from a variety of sources. A consultation impact assessment has been published and can be found at: ​​Consultation impact assessment - modern leasehold: restricting ground rent for existing leases​.That consultation closed on 17 January, and Government is currently analysing the responses before taking a decision on how to restrict ground rents through the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill.In line with the practice of successive administrations details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Private Rented Housing

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the three properties threshold for qualifying lease status outlined in the Building Safety Act 2022 on the private rented sector.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate his Department has made of the number of leaseholders that do not meet the criteria for qualifying lease threshold because they own more than three properties.

Lee Rowley: The Building Safety Act introduced leaseholder protections to ensure leaseholders are safe in their buildings. A threshold which set a balance between those purchasing properties primarily to live in and those who have made commercial or investment decisions, whether freeholders or leaseholders, was therefore needed.There are protections in place for leaseholders who do not qualify. Building owners and landlords who built defective buildings of at least 11m or at least five storeys, or are associated with those responsible, must pay to remedy historical safety defects for both cladding and non-cladding defects. The principal residence of all leaseholders in relevant buildings will qualify for the protections. In addition, remediation contribution orders and the Defective Premises Act provide routes for leaseholders in relevant buildings to recover remediation costs from those responsible, whatever their qualifying status.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Buildings: Carbon Emissions

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the commitment to match or exceed EU Ecodesign standards in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs publication entitled Our waste, our resources: a strategy for England, published on 18 December 2018, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1670.

Amanda Solloway: Regulation 2023/1670 applies Ecodesign requirement to smartphones and tablets. These are not priority products under the Framework but the Government is currently considering the implications of the EU’s Ecodesign programme and what the UK’s approach should be across a wide range of products.

Industry: Carbon Emissions

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to page 69 of her Department's Carbon Budget Delivery Plan, published on 30 March 2023, what steps she is taking to deliver carbon savings associated with Industrial Resource Efficiency for (a) carbon budget 4, (b) carbon budget 5 and (c) carbon budget 6.

Graham Stuart: Government is committed to delivering carbon savings through increased resource efficiency in industry, in line with the 2023 Carbon Budget Delivery Plan. Through UKRI, the Government has provided innovation support, including £30m for the National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research programme and £66m for the Transforming Foundation Industries programme. DESNZ has undertaken extensive research to support evidence-based resource efficiency policies. The first reports were published in November 2023. This will complement policies aimed at encouraging consumers to make green choices, such as eco-labelling and product standards. We are also processing the results of a call for evidence on scope 3 emissions reporting.

Industry: Carbon Emissions

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the UK meets its commitments under the Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative's Green Public Procurement Pledge.

Graham Stuart: The Government committed to the Green Public Procurement pledge in its announcement at COP28 last year. As part of the pledge communiqué, the Government listed the actions it is taking to meet commitments under the pledge. The Government will provide the first annual update on the pledge later this year, which will include information on progress to date. The pledge communiqué is available here: https://www.cleanenergyministerial.org/content/uploads/2023/12/iddi-gpp-pledge-announcement_5-december-2023.pdf

National Grid: Environment Protection

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Ofgem's role in enforcing the use of the Treasury Green Book guidance in relation to the development of the Norwich to Tilbury proposals by the National Grid.

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will have discussions with National Grid on ensuring that energy infrastructure projects comply with HM Treasury's publication entitled The Green Book, published in March 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Green Book provides standard guidance for evaluating benefits and outcomes of projects. Transmission Owners follow a robust assessment process and use national guidance, primarily the National Policy Statement for Electricity Networks Infrastructure. Their proposals are subject to an independent high-level assessment of their ability to meet electricity network needs by the Electricity System Operator. Ofgem expects Transmission Owners to reference the Green Book in their submissions, but its application is not enforced and there is no requirement in the Planning Act 2008 for a Green Book assessment to be included in Development Consent Order applications.

National Grid

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will have discussions with National Grid on ensuring that the statutory consultation on the Norwich to Tilbury infrastructure project does not take place until the Electricity System Operator offshore coordination study has concluded.

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will have discussions with the National Grid on ensuring that the statutory consultation on the Norwich to Tilbury infrastructure project does not take place until the reports by the (a) National Grid's Electricity Systems Operator on The East Anglian Study and (b) Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee following its inquiry entitled A flexible grid for the future are published.

Graham Stuart: As the statutory consultation process is not led by Government, there have not been discussions between the Secretary of State and National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) on the timing and alignment of its consultation on this project. NGET has however publicly stated that it will ensure that the results of the Electricity System Operator East Anglia study will be considered fully.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Health and Safety

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether all (a) buildings and (b) workplaces staff from their Department occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Graham Stuart: The Department works with the Government Property Agency, who acts as landlord for the Department’s estate, to ensure that all workplaces and buildings its staff occupy have a sufficient risk assessment.

Attorney General

Prosecutions: Slavery

Kim Johnson: To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of (a) children and (b) adults prosecuted for (i) homicide, (ii) attempted homicide and (iii) other offences had been assessed under the modern slavery national referral mechanism in each of the last 10 years.

Robert Courts: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold data on the number of defendants assessed under the modern slavery National Referral Mechanism (NRM). This information could only be obtained by an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.The NRM is the UK framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support. Certain public authorities, including the police, have a statutory duty to refer potential victims to the NRM. Adults must agree to this. The CPS cannot make referrals; it is not a first responder.Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 provides for a statutory defence for adult and child victims of modern slavery who are accused of committing criminal offences. The defence does not apply to the most serious crimes such as murder or manslaughter.

Prosecutions

Kim Johnson: To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of charges that used the threshold test subsequently recorded an application of the full code test in each of the last 10 years.

Robert Courts: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold data from which it is possible to cross-reference Threshold Test charging decisions about a defendant with subsequent Full Code Test decisions. This information could only be obtained by an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.The Code for Crown Prosecutors is clear that the Threshold Test may only be applied after a rigorous examination of its five conditions. This ensures that it is only applied when necessary and that cases are not charged prematurely. Any decision to charge under the Threshold Test must be kept under review and the Full Code Test must be applied as soon as practicable.

Homicide

Kim Johnson: To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of (a) homicide and (b) attempted homicide cases was the threshold test applied in each of the last 10 years.

Robert Courts: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Management Information is available showing the number of pre-charge legal decisions when the Principal Offence Category allocated at the first consultation was homicide and whether the final consultation completed against the suspect involved application of the Threshold Test.Data can be provided from April 2019 to the end of September 2023 and the tables below show this information for each year and the financial year 2023/24 to date. Table 1 - Legal Decisions2019-20202020-20212021-20222022-2023April - September 2023Threshold Test8408509711030524% Threshold Test of Legal Decisions47.5%49.0%53.0%54.2%54.1%  Table 2 - Decisions to Charge2019-20202020-20212021-20222022-2023April - September 2023Threshold Test8368489681026523% Threshold Test of Legal Decisions59.8%58.8%62.1%64.3%65.6%  Table 3 - Decisions to NFA/OoCD2019-20202020-20212021-20222022-2023April - September 2023Threshold Test42341% Threshold Test of Legal Decisions1.1%0.7%1.1%1.3%0.6%  Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System Principal Offence Categories comprise a range of offences. These cannot be separated to report suspect outcomes by specific offence. Legal decisions are to charge, take no further action (NFA), or recommend an out of court disposal (OoCD). Following the receipt of a file from the police requesting a CPS charging decision, several consultations may take place before the final decision whether to charge or not is taken by the reviewing lawyer. The first consultation may result in a legal decision outcome or in an action plan that needs to be sent to the police for further investigation or additional evidentiary material to allow a charging decision to take place.

Aiding and Abetting: Slavery

Kim Johnson: To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of (a) children and (b) adults prosecuted under joint enterprise provisions in the Crown Prosecution Service Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023 for (i) homicide, (ii) attempted homicide and (iii) other offences were assessed under the modern slavery National Referral Mechanism.

Robert Courts: The methodology of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Joint Enterprise Pilot 2023 is set out on their website at: www.cps.gov.uk/publication/crown-prosecution-service-joint-enterprise-pilot-2023-data-analysis.This involved the application of a local ‘flag’ to joint enterprise homicide and attempted homicide cases which were then manually reviewed and certain case features were counted. The number of cases in which the defendant was assessed under the modern slavery National Referral Mechanism was not counted during the pilot and it is not possible to extract further management information from the local ‘flag’ centrally.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Music: Urban Areas

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the grime music scene in urban centres across England.

Julia Lopez: The Government is committed to supporting our world leading music sector, including at a grassroots level across the country. Grime music projects have been successful in applying for the Arts Council England’s (ACE’s) Supporting Grassroots Music Fund, to which the government last year committed an additional £5 million, taking our total investment through the Fund to almost £15 million. The Fund enables grassroots music organisations including venues, rehearsal and recording studios, festivals and promoters from all music genres to increase support for young, emerging and more diverse artists, improve equipment and physical infrastructure, and support them to be more financially resilient.The Government also supports our world leading music industry through a range of export support programmes, including the Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS) co-funded by DCMS and DBT. MEGS has supported over 300 musical acts from a range of genres and backgrounds, including grime artists, to grow their international profile and exports in global markets. As part of the Creative Industries Sector Vision we announced that funding for MEGS will be tripled to £3.2 million over the next two years, helping to support more artists than ever before.DCMS works closely with ACE to develop and invest in artistic and cultural experiences to enrich people's lives. ACE offers a range of grants and support offers, such as Developing Your Creative Practice and Project Grants, which are open to applicants from any music genre or background. DCMS officials continue to engage with a diverse range of stakeholders from across the music industry to better understand issues and concerns and to identify opportunities to support.

Listed Events Regime: Digital Rights Review

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department plans to publish the results of the Listed Events: Digital Rights Review.

Julia Lopez: We will set out more detail in due course.

Football: Sportsgrounds

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of piloting alcohol sales in sight of pitch in (a) women’s, (b) National League and (c) League Two football.

Stuart Andrew: As set out in “A sustainable future - reforming club football governance”, the Government acknowledges the case for pilots of alcohol sales in sight of the pitch in the lower leagues as set out in the Fan Led Review of Football Governance, and will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders on this.

Sports Competitors: Hearing Impairment

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding has been allocated to support deaf athletes at the elite level in each of the last five years.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has undertaken an equality impact assessment on the effectiveness of access to elite sport funding pathways for deaf athletes.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential adequacy of funding available for elite deaf athletes.

Stuart Andrew: The Government is dedicated to making sport in this country accessible and inclusive for everyone, including d/Deaf people.Sport England has committed £1.2 million between 2022 and 2027 to UK Deaf Sport to boost deaf sport at the grassroots level and build wider participation. They have also agreed to explore a series of small-scale talent pilots for d/Deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore support around elite competitions and suggest potential improvements.UK Sport uses funding provided by the Government to support athletes with potential to achieve success in Olympic and Paralympic sports. As the Deaflympics falls outside of Olympic and Paralympic sport, UK Sport are therefore unable to fund athletes targeting this event. This is in line with the Government’s approach to other Paralympic sports where competition is not offered in an athlete's particular classification or discipline.

Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

Electoral Commission

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Committee has had recent discussions with the Electoral Commission on the independence of the Commission.

Cat Smith: The Committee has had recent discussions with the Commission on this issue. The Commission regularly discusses its independence and accountability arrangements, which underpin public confidence in its work and decisions, during its regular meetings with the Committee.The Commission and the Committee have both noted concerns about the introduction of a Strategy and Policy Statement, including its inconsistency with the role that an independent electoral commission plays in a democratic system.However, now that a statement has been passed by the UK parliament, the Commission will meet its legal duty to have regard to it. It will continue to act independently and impartially to help maintain public confidence in elections and political finance regulation.